Not upheld: Goods and services under S75 complaint against Alphabet (GB) Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs G, as director of a private limited company, complained that a BMW car leased from Alphabet (GB) Limited was not of satisfactory quality due to electronic handbrake malfunctions that caused the car to roll back on two occasions. After reporting the issue in September 2016, the dealership, BMW UK, and BMW Germany all conducted extensive testing but found no mechanical fault with the handbrake system. BMW UK replaced the entire handbrake system at no cost to G. Mrs G requested rejection of the car and compensation, but Alphabet refused, offering only £50 for poor service. The ombudsman found no evidence of a fault present at the time of purchase and concluded that Alphabet's repair of the handbrake system at no cost was a fair and reasonable settlement, therefore not upholding the complaint.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied consumer protection law requiring that any fault must have been present at the time of purchase and that a consumer cannot reject a car for a fault caused by the owner or driver. Despite Mrs G's safety concerns, the extensive testing by multiple independent parties (dealership, BMW UK, and BMW Germany) found no mechanical fault with the handbrake system. The ombudsman concluded that without evidence of a fault at the time of purchase, Alphabet was not obliged to cancel the agreement or take back the car. The fact that BMW UK replaced the handbrake system at no cost, even without finding a fault, was deemed a fair and reasonable settlement. The ombudsman rejected Mrs G's claim of being forced to accept the repairs, noting that offering repair to restore a car to drive-worthy condition is a reasonable remedy.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website